a palindrome. like "a man, a plan, a canal, panama" or "madam i'm adam". my title today is a palindrome.
anyway.... why can't we say "no". i am a "yes" person and proudly so, i don't like to write off ideas or discourage a thought, i love helping others and making them happy. but i find that i have trouble saying "no" to alot of things. somehow i don't think that i am the only person.
the amount of time sapping tasks we've all signed up for, mind numbingly boring extra work we've put in with a forced smile on our face, the unbelievingly awkward social occasions we've sat and stood through. all because we have not mastered this one syllable adverb.
we just don't like offending people. we don't like to turn down extra work because in our backward puritanical society we think we will be looked at as lazy. if we fail to show up at our neighbours sisters dogs 12th birthday we feel like we've let the "team" down.
but does it matter if we offend, if people whisper "that lazy so and so" behind our backs, does it matter what people think of us. "no" definitely not.
but how do you react when someone says "no" to you. is it with a silent shrug of the shoulders and a pout. is it all abit like your the victim in some worldwide conspiracy against your happiness. if it is, chances are that's why you have trouble saying "no". maybe you need to stop being offended, and whispering behind others backs.
remember there is a difference between saying "no" and being a negative annoying person. there is a difference between saying "no" and being one of those guys that thinks of every excuse in the book to not attend a party: "oh, um, i've got knitting club that night, i'm working on a cardigan".
just a parting thought, if you do say "no" to something, it offers an opportunity to someone who desperately wants to do the thing that you don't want to do.